Drink container identification apparatus

ABSTRACT

A drink container identification apparatus for a consumer to identify a beverage is described herein. Certain embodiments of such drink containers provide an apparatus for allowing standard product labeling to be utilized, without complicating or altering the existing manufacturing process. The apparatus may include a metal beverage can, wherein the metal can is a soft metal, a series of at least two ridgelines around a neck of the can, wherein said ridgelines are machined into the can, and said ridgelines contain a plurality of symbols in each ridgeline. The apparatus may further include a bottle, wherein a series of ridgelines are present on around the circumference of the bottle, with symbols appearing above or below each ridgeline.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/474,354 filed on Mar. 21, 2017, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to an apparatus for a consumer to identify a drinking container, for example, a can or bottle, and thereby avoid mistakenly consuming another's beverage. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus consisting of deformable ridgelines formed on or with the container allowing a consumer to identify his or her own personal beverage container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The global beverage industry is an international business. In the United States alone, the top ten (10) beverage companies earned revenues of $287 billion in 2012. Consumer demand for portable aluminum cans and glass/plastic bottles is at record levels. Because of this demand, plastic and glass bottles and aluminum cans litter the landscape.

At parties and other gatherings where people congregate, beverages are present in plastic, metal or glass containers. Beverages end up unattended at these gatherings. Absent a personal identification of their container, a person may mistake one beverage container for their own, especially if the containers look alike, which they often do.

Because the transfer of germs or viruses may occur through salivary transfer, a person consuming the wrong beverage may become ill. A reasonable person, may simply discard the suspect container, opting for another one.

However, discarding a perfectly good beverage increases litter while wasting a precious resource like water for example. Alternatively, consuming a suspect container may cause illness and significant monetary loss. Consumers need an identification apparatus marking or designating their personal beverage containers.

Currently, the global beverage industry and container manufacturers have no identification apparatus. Consumers should not have to guess over suspicious beverage containers. Therefore, a need exists in the art for an apparatus and method permitting a person to safely, quickly, and easily identify their own drinking container, such as a bottle, cup or can, and prevent waste of critical resources and avoid unhealthy medical conditions.

This solution may employ an apparatus to identify a person's beverage container, promoting safe health conditions, avoid litter, and wasted product.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An apparatus and method for drink identification are described herein. The apparatus may be affixed to a beverage container permitting a consumer to select their own identification mark for their beverage container. The apparatus may have multiple embodiments dependent upon the type of container, for example a cup, a can, a bottle, or the like.

In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus may be configured such that two or three levels of ridgelines encircle a beverage can. Each ridgeline may bear alphabetical or numeric symbols. Any combinations of such symbols may be used for the ridgelines. The ridgelines, which may be stamped or die cast into the body of the beverage can, are a permanent part of the can.

According to an exemplary embodiment, two ridgelines may be formed upon, affixed, or otherwise made part of a container, such as a cup, can, bottle or other container, thereby encircling the container.

According to an exemplary embodiment, each of the ridgelines may bear an alphabetical or numeric symbol. These symbols may be combined together or kept separate.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the symbols appearing on the ridgelines may be indented using ordinary finger pressure. A consumer may indent one or more symbols depending on their choice. By indenting the symbols on the ridgelines, the consumer may code their beverage container, use personal initials, or otherwise create an identifiable marking that sets the container apart from other containers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIGS. 1a-1c are an example of a metal beverage can with indentable alphabetic symbols;

FIGS. 2a-2c are an example of a bottle with an indentable ridge adjacent to alphabetic symbols;

FIGS. 3a-3c are an example of a bottle with indentable alphabetic symbols;

FIGS. 4a-4c are an example of a cup with an indentable ridge adjacent to alphabetic symbols;

FIGS. 5a-5c are an example of a cup with indentable alphabetic symbols;

FIGS. 6a-6c are an example of a cup with indentable alphabetic symbols in a vertical array; and

FIGS. 7a-7c are an example of a cup with an indentable ridge adjacent to alphabetic symbols in a vertical array.

DETAILED SPECIFICATION

This invention is described in the following description with reference to the Figures, in which like reference numbers represent the same or similar elements. While this invention is described in terms of modes for achieving this invention's objectives, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations may be accomplished in view of these teachings without deviating from the spirit or scope of the present invention. The embodiments and variations of the invention described herein, and/or shown in the drawings, are presented by way of example only and are not limiting as to the scope of the invention.

Unless otherwise specifically stated, individual aspects and components of the invention may be omitted or modified, or may have substituted therefore known equivalents, or as yet unknown substitutes such as may be developed in the future or such as may be found to be acceptable substitutes in the future. The invention may also be modified for a variety of applications while remaining within the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, since the range of potential applications is great, and since it is intended that the present invention be adaptable to many such variations.

The present invention generally relates to an apparatus and method permitting a consumer to quickly, easily, and safely identify their beverage container for use with metal, plastic, or containers of other materials that allow for deformation of a ridgeline of said container. In an exemplary embodiment, a metal beverage may be manufactured of aluminum or another soft composite. The can may have any number of ridgelines stamped or die cast into the neck of the can (e.g., one, two, three). According to an embodiment of the present invention, a can with two ridges may have fewer combinations of symbols than a can with three ridge lines. The ridgelines may encircle the neck of the can, and form a permanent component of the container. Each of the ridgelines may contain numeric or alphabetic symbols, each symbol being, printed, stamped or die cast into each ridgeline.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ridgelines of the container are formed in such a manner that the deformable ridgelines are located at a top or bottom edge of the container. The ridgelines in preferred embodiments may be substantially flush with the container and allow for deformations to be visible when deformed. As opposed to previous container that require enlarged dimples to be pushed inward in order to create visible deformations, the current invention allows for flush, or substantially flush ridgelines to allow for visible deformations, without requiring protruding or enlarged dimples on the container. It should be noted that previous embodiments, with protruding or enlarged dimples, further increase the cost and complexity of creating a container, and therefore are not ideal for use.

Further, embodiments of the present invention, with deformable ridgelines present on a portion of a container, allow for containers to be manufactured without specifically prechosen identifiers printed on the container. Previous containers with dimples required a preplanned printing direction, preventing alteration or reconsideration of the identifiers that will be used. Advantageously, by forming the container with deformable ridgelines that can be printed with identifiers in any possible arrangement, preferred embodiments allow for an endless possibility of arrangement and uses, while allowing standard product labeling (e.g., product names, logos) to be utilized, without complicating or altering the existing manufacturing process.

The symbols may be visible to the naked eye and capable of tactile touch to the human hand. Each symbol may be distinct from another symbol. One of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate that there are numerous combinations of symbols that may be used and embodiments of the present invention are contemplated for use with such symbols.

The ridgelines may be placed on the container so as to taper inward from the bottom ridge line to the top ridge line. This inward tilt may attract the person's attention rendering the person's immediate visualization and tactile touch with each ridge and symbol.

Numeric ridges may require less spacing around the neck of the can especially at the top where the can's body narrows. One of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate that there are numerous possible can designs that may be used and embodiments of the present invention are contemplated for use with such can designs. One of ordinary skill in the art may also appreciate that there are numerous angles and shapes that may work with the ridges and embodiment of the present invention are contemplated for use with any angle of ridge. According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the ridgelines may be vertical, or otherwise encircle only a portion of a can.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the consumer selecting the symbols to indent may be unique to that person alone. One of ordinary skill in the art may also appreciate that virtually an infinite choice of combinations may serve as the identifying symbols on the ridge levels.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, other symbols may also be employed instead of numeric or alphabetic, such a zodiac signs, stars, tridents, or the like.

In another exemplary embodiment, a bottle comprised of plastic or other malleable material may be overlaid or formed with the ridgelines, as in the case of a metal container, a person may indent the ridgelines to create a personal code.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the case of a bottle, a first ridgeline may be placed at the top and a second ridgelines may be placed at the bottom of the bottle container. One of ordinary skill in the art may also appreciate that the ridges may be placed anywhere on the bottle to accomplish the same objective and ensure proper identification of the person's bottle.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, undented ridgelines symbols and dented ridgelines symbols may allow the consumer of the canned beverage to visually distinguish between dented and undented symbols for three ridgelines used.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, undented ridgelines symbols and dented ridgelines symbols may allow the consumer of the canned beverage to visually distinguish between dented and undented symbols for two ridgelines used.

Each of the two or three ridgelines encircling the can may be located close to the flip top lid, making the ridges and symbols easily visible to the consumer.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, undented ridgelines symbols and dented ridgeline symbols may allow the consumer of the beverage in a bottle to visually distinguish between dented and undented symbols for two ridgelines used.

According to an embodiment of the present invention the top and bottom of the bottle being wider than the indentable ridgelines may protect the ridgelines from inadvertent indentation.

FIGS. 1a-1c are an example of a metal beverage can with indentable alphabetic symbols. FIG. 1a illustrates a metal beverage can 101 with two ridgelines 102 at the top of the metal beverage can 101. The ridgelines 102 may be indentable. The ridgelines 102 may be machined, for example stamped or die cast, into the neck of the can 103.

FIG. 1b is a close-up of the neck of the can 103. As illustrated in FIG. 1 b, the neck of the can 103 has two ridgelines 102 with alphabetic symbols 104. The alphabetic symbols 104 are not yet used. In FIG. 1 c, a consumer 105 may indent any chosen alphabetic symbols 104 to identify the metal beverage can 101 as their own.

FIGS. 2a-2c are an example of a bottle with an indentable ridge adjacent to alphabetic symbols. FIG. 2a illustrates a bottle 201 with two ridgelines 202 at the top 202(a) and bottom 202(b) of the bottle. Alphabetic symbols 203 may be adjacent to the ridgelines 202. The ridgelines 202 may be indentable.

FIG. 2b is a close up of one of the ridgelines 202, for example the bottom ridgeline 202 b. As illustrated in FIG. 2b , the bottom ridgeline 202 b is not yet used. The bottom ridgeline 202 b is aligned with the alphabetic symbols 203. In FIG. 2c , a consumer 204 may indent the ridgelines 202 adjacent to any chosen alphabetic symbols 203 to identify the bottle 201 as their own. The top and bottom of the bottle 201 may be wider than the indentable ridgelines 202, preventing the ridgelines 202 from being accidentally dented.

FIGS. 3a-3c are an example of a bottle with indentable alphabetic symbols. As illustrated in FIG. 3a , a bottle 301 may have ridgelines 302 with alphabetic symbols. The ridgelines 302 may be indentable. As shown in FIG. 3a , and as previously described, the sides of the bottle may be wider than the ridgelines (see 304—line from side of bottle showing ridgeline with a narrower circumference than the sides for perspective) in order to protect the ridgelines from being accidentally dented.

FIG. 3b is a close up of one of the ridgelines 302. As illustrated in FIG. 3b , the ridgeline 302 is not yet used. In FIG. 3c , a consumer 303 may indent any chosen alphabetic symbols 304 to identify the bottle 301 as their own. The top and bottom of the bottle 301 may be wider than the ridgelines 302, preventing the ridgelines 302 from being accidentally indented.

FIGS. 4a-4c are an example of a cup with an indentable ridge adjacent to alphabetic symbols. As illustrated in FIG. 4a , a cup 401 may have ridgelines 402 at the bottom of the cup. Alphabetic symbols 403 may be adjacent to the ridgelines 402. The ridgelines 402 may be indentable.

FIG. 4b is a close up of the ridgelines 402. As illustrated in FIG. 4b , the ridgelines 402 are not yet used. In FIG. 4c , a consumer 404 may indent the ridgelines 402 adjacent to any chosen alphabetic symbols 403 to identify the cup 401 as their own.

FIGS. 5a-5c are an example of a cup with indentable alphabetic symbols. As illustrated in FIG. 5a , a cup 501 may have ridgelines 502 with alphabetic symbols 503. The ridgelines 502 may be indentable.

FIG. 5b is a close up of the ridgelines 502. As illustrated in FIG. 5b , the ridgelines 502 are not yet used. In FIGS. 5c , a consumer 504 may indent any chosen alphabetic symbols 503 to identify the cup 501 as their own.

FIGS. 6a-6c are an example of a cup with indentable alphabetic symbols in a vertical array. As illustrated in FIG. 6a , a cup 601 may have a vertical ridgeline 602 with alphabetic symbols 603. The ridgeline 602 may be indentable.

FIG. 6b is a close up of the ridgeline 602. As illustrated in FIG. 6b , the ridgeline 602 is not yet used. In FIG. 6c , a consumer 604 may indent any chosen alphabetic symbols 603 to identify the cup 601 as their own.

FIGS. 7a-7c are an example of a cup with an indentable ridge adjacent to alphabetic symbols in a vertical array. As illustrated in FIG. 7a , a cup 701 may have vertical ridgelines 702. Alphabetic symbols 703 may be adjacent to the ridgelines 702. The ridgelines 702 may be indentable.

FIG. 7b is a close up of the ridgeline. As illustrated in FIG. 7b , the ridgeline 602 is not yet used. In FIG. 7c , a consumer 704 may indent the ridgelines 702 adjacent to any chosen alphabetic symbols 703 to identify the cup 701 as their own.

It is understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative of only a few of the many possible specific embodiments, which can represent applications of the invention. Numerous and varied other arrangements can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

While multiple embodiments are disclosed still other embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to these skilled in the art from the detailed description. The invention is capable of myriad modification in various obvious aspects all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawing and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. 

1. A drink container identification apparatus for a consumer to identify a beverage, said apparatus comprising: a body portion forming a container with a hollow interior cavity; one or more ridgelines disposed on said body portion; and a plurality of symbols disposed at said one or more ridgelines; wherein said plurality of symbols disposed at said one or more ridgelines are indentable by applying finger pressure.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the body portion forming said container is a metal beverage can, wherein the metal can is formed from a soft metal, wherein the one or more ridgelines comprise a series of at least two ridgelines, and wherein said plurality of symbols is formed upon said ridgelines.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said ridgelines are machined into the can.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said at least two ridgelines encircle the neck of the can close to a flip top opening.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said symbols on each ridgeline are linked in a continuous line of symbols.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said symbols are numeric symbols.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said symbols are alphabetic symbols.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said ridgelines are inwardly tilted for visual identification of said symbols.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said symbols are identified by touch.
 10. (canceled)
 11. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said ridgelines are stamped into the can.
 12. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said ridgelines are die cast into the can.
 13. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein each symbol of said plurality of symbols on each of said ridgelines is substantially flush with the material of the can, such that there is no noticeable dimpling of such symbols prior to any of said plurality of symbols being indented.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said body portion forming said container is a bottle, wherein the bottle is formed at least partially from a pliable plastic, wherein the one or more ridgelines comprise a series of at least two ridgelines.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said ridgelines are machined into the bottle.
 16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said at least two ridgelines encircle the bottle, with a first ridgeline on a top portion of the bottle, a second ridgeline on a bottom portion of the bottle, wherein the first ridgeline is equally distal from a top opening of the bottle as the second ridgeline is distal from a bottom edge of the bottle.
 17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said symbols are located proximate to, but not on said ridgeline, and wherein said symbols are linked in a continuous line of symbols.
 18. (canceled)
 19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said plurality of symbols forms two concentric circles of symbols, wherein a first concentric circle of symbols is located directly above the first ridgeline, and a second concentric circle of symbols is located directly below the second ridgeline.
 20. A drink container identification apparatus for a consumer to identify a beverage, said apparatus comprising: a body portion forming a container with a hollow interior cavity; one or more ridgelines disposed on said body portion; and a plurality of symbols disposed at said one or more ridgelines; wherein said plurality of symbols disposed at said one or more ridgelines are configured to be indentable by applying finger pressure; and wherein said plurality of symbols are substantially flush with an exterior surface of the body portion, such that there is no noticeable dimpling of said plurality of symbols prior to any of said plurality of symbols being indented by applying finger pressure.
 21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the body portion forming said container is a metal beverage can, wherein the metal can is formed from a soft metal, wherein the one or more ridgelines includes a series of at least two ridgelines, and wherein said plurality of symbols is formed upon said ridgelines.
 22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the one or more ridgelines are substantially flush ridgelines that are configured to be visibly deformable without having protruding dimples. 